Thursday, 18 November 2010

Marketing Mistake - 4

For example, I could show you literally hundreds of different sales letters sent by businesses, which are so poorly written it would be a miracle if a response was generated.

This is the norm.

It is extremely rare that you see any sales letter or other marketing tool even close to average in standard. The sole reason for this is a lack of preparation.

Your sales and marketing are your "building blocks." You must build them step-by-step, peice-by-peice. This does take time initially but the rewards are astounding if you take the time to get them right and include all the important elements that are needed to achieve success.

I don't care what products or services you are selling, you need to go through the same preparation as the next person. The one difference is your content - the stuff that makes you unique. But every good sales letter has a headline, a PS, testimonials, a strong offer etc. The same can be said about any other marketing tool you choose to use. Each needs to be prepared in the same way. And each will be much improved if only people took the time to prepare.

There is a sporting analogy to explain this point further:

A friend used to play professional rugby for a well known team - one of the most successful rugby teams in Europe. Prior to each match on a Saturday afternoon, they would train 10 to 12 times between Sunday and Friday.

They would watch numerous videos on their opponents. They would discuss tactics, which were closely aligned to the strengths of their opponents, and also focused on their opponent's weaknesses.

They had strict diets. They were told what they could drink and what they couldn't drink. And they were told when to rest and when to sleep.

Preparation was a religion. This amounted to approximately 6 whole days of preparation for an 80 minute match on a Saturday afternoon.

They won 90% of their matches each season. They won the league and they won the knock out cup competitions.

How do you think they would have fared if they'd turned up to the match on a Saturday afternoon without all this preparation?

It goes without saying that you must be this clinical in your preparation if your business is to grow at the rate you want it to. Far too often we rush into doing things without planning and preparing. And then we wonder why our results are so poor.